


Dreams of a Princess Long Forgot

by Larkawolfgirl



Category: Tales of Series, Tales of Vesperia
Genre: F/F, Fairy Tales, Friendship/Love, Royalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2015-07-20
Packaged: 2018-04-10 08:23:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4384439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Larkawolfgirl/pseuds/Larkawolfgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Estelle never claimed to be a role-model princess. She had three main reasons: 1) she had absolutely no desire to claim the crown, 2) she had aided a criminal, 3) she was in love, but definitely not with a prince.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dreams of a Princess Long Forgot

**Author's Note:**

> It's been two years since I played Vesperia, and the wiki does not have all that much information (it doesn't even mention that Ioder is Estelle's cousin), so I made up some things. If anything directly contradicts with anything you know is stated in-game, please let me know.

Estellise had always dreamed of marrying a prince, after all, don't most princesses? Estelle didn't meet many people considering that she barely left the castle. The only prince she knew was her cousin, who honestly didn't seem much like the princes she dreamed about. Sure he met the qualities mentioned in the books she read (he was handsome, smart, well-mannered), but there was something lacking. Perhaps they were just too close for him to seem special.

When she met Flynn, special was the first thing that came to mind. He was the closest thing to a real-life prince from her imaginings. Everyone else was bland in comparison to his shine. He wore armor just like the “knights in shining armor” mentioned in so many of her stories, and he always had a smile waiting for her. Of course, he had been loaded down with formalities at first, but soon she’d managed to get him to use her self-proclaimed nickname “Estelle”, or at least Miss Estellise rather than Your Highness if they were in company. This made her heart soar, since Ioder was the only other person who would use her nickname.

Flynn wasn’t a prince, but she figured that was okay. Everything else seemed perfect. He had high-ranking, was on good terms with her father, was sweet, and kind, and well mannered. He should have been her “prince.”

But he wasn’t.

Her heart was happy when she saw him, but that was where it ended. He was entirely perfect and a great friend, but a friend was all she found herself wanting.

This puzzled her. Story-princesses always knew their prince right away. They didn’t need to get to know them or second guess themselves. They always loved who they were meant to. Wasn’t she meant to love Flynn?

Then she met Yuri. He was _so_ not a prince. Not only did he live in the Lower Quarter, but he hated the upper class. His smiles were different from Flynn’s. Where his had been kind and gentle, Yuri’s had an arrogant smirk worked in. Not that he wasn’t kind and gentle, though. No, Yuri was kind, which is why Estelle wanted to stick by him. He was helpful and caring, but she soon realized that he was willing to do anything in order to be so, even break the law.

This was difficult. As a princess, she should hold up the law, but as Yuri’s friend, she understood where he was coming from. By taking lives he managed saved others. There seemed to be two sides to justice: Flynn’s (the admiral, princely way), and Yuri’s (the absolute, criminal way). Estelle felt caught between the two. She could pursuit the crown and change things from the top, as Flynn attempted to do. But this would take time, and frankly, she didn’t really want to be burdened down by that responsibility.

She wanted to live freely, like Yuri did. This was the first thing that had drawn her to him: his ability to go and do whatever he wanted, something she had never had the luxury to do until meeting him. He wasn’t a prince, but somehow she thought she could come to love him with time. The longer they traveled, the freer she felt, the closer they became.

But she never fell in love with him.

Then there was Rita.

She _definitely_ wasn’t a prince. She was unique in the best of ways. While most people clammed up around her, Rita seemed to relax the most in her presence. It didn’t take long to realize her own special treatment when Rita blew up at the others in what Estelle found to be adorable fits of anger. It was nice to have someone treat her as if she were special because of who she was instead of her position. She’d been treated superior for her entire life for her mere title, but Rita didn’t treat her any differently after learning it.

Estelle’s heart hadn’t fluttered the first time she saw Rita like it had with Flynn, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t been struck by her appearance. She had a similar free-spirit as Yuri, mirrored in her strange clothes with unmatched stockings (Estelle had been lectured on the importance of colorization since a child) and attitude. She grew fonder of Rita than she’d even been of anyone. She spoke in her sleep, blushed bright red when she was embarrassed, and knocked everyone else out of the park with her magic and research.

It didn’t take long for admiration and friendship to develop into something else. Estelle wasn’t sure what it was at first. It made her heart flutter just from hearing Rita’s name mentioned, and nearly jump from her chest at any contact with her. She found herself prioritizing her above her other friends when it came to safety, passing out food, anything really.

This had not been covered in her stories.

“Yuri,” Estelle began one night as the campfire blazed.

“Hmm?” he asked tilting his head in mock interest as he poked at the fire with a long brown stick.

Luckily Rita and the others had already headed into the tents for the night, otherwise, she wasn’t sure she’d have had the nerve to ask. “What does love feel like?”

He dropped the stick, turned around to face her, and smirked. “Haven’t fallen for me have you? Sorry to say that I only see you as a friend.”

“No, I haven’t.” She smiled, thankful for his light attitude to the sudden question. “I might have for someone else, though.”

“Flynn, huh? I figured as much.”

She glanced down at her folded hands, nervousness returning. “Not Flynn.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Raven?”

She glanced up, waving her arms frantically. “No!” Her face felt warm.

“Then who?”

Her face felt warmer. “Do I have to say? I’d like to know if it is before I say anything.” Somehow she’d managed to sound composed.

“Well,” he paused in thought, “I guess it usually starts as friendship, but the feelings get deeper. You start to think about that person constantly. You prioritize them. Your heart beats fast, and you worry about what they think about you. The defining factor is usually the desire for them to feel the same way.”

“Oh.” She wasn’t sure what sort of expression she was making, but Yuri snorted.

“You are then. It’s Rita, isn’t it?”

Now her face felt really hot. “H-how did you know?”

“It’s been obvious for a while now.”

“It has? Wait, then you were messing with me?”

He laughed, placing a hand on hers. “You should know me well enough by now.”

“Then, uh, what do I do now? My books never talked about anything like this.”

“That’s the problem with filling your head with books. Learn to live a little.”

She puffed her cheeks out. “That doesn’t help.”

“Just go tell her how you feel.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.” With his nod of approval, she rose and began walking hesitantly toward Rita’s tent. “And Estelle, good luck.” His smile was contagious, and she felt added confidence flowing through her.

“Rita?” she called, shaking the mage, who sat up, startled.

“Huh?” She scratched the back of her head with a yawn. “Estelle? What time is it?”

Estelle glanced at the bed but decided she’d better stand. “It’s still early evening. I wanted to tell you something.”

“It couldn’t wait till morning?”

Her face fell with disappointment. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’ll tell you in the morning.”

She turned, ready to leave, but Rita caught her wrist before she could. “No, I’m sorry. I’m already up, so you might as well tell me.” Estelle turned back around, but instead of speaking she fidgeted. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah.” She glanced at Rita’s hand still holding her wrist. Pushing up with some pressure she successfully broke the grip. Then she grasped the hand with her own, the contact sending pleasant chills up her arm.

Rita turned her head to the side. “Are you ready to tell me yet?” Her voice sounded raspier than usual. Was it embarrassment?

“Rita Mordio, you are not a prince.”

“Huh?” Rita gave her a deadpan look. “I’m quite aware of that.”

Estelle didn’t let her comment bother her, instead, tightening her grip on her hand. “You may not be a prince, but Rita Mordio, I love you anyway.”

Rita stared for a long while, unmoving. Finally, her head dropped and little sounds emitted from her mouth. Worried, Estelle dropped her hand, crouching to see her face better. “Rita, are you okay?”

The mage ran a hand across her eyes. “I’m an idiot.”

Estelle grasped her shoulders. “Don’t say that.”

“I should have told you earlier.”

“Told me what?”

“I love you, too.”

After traveling the world with Judith for three months, the two of them decided to settle down in Halure. It wasn’t a palace, but it had a beautiful atmosphere that made it feel ten times more like home. Their life was simple and quiet, or as quiet as it can be with someone like Rita. Estelle and she had a picnic under the tree each day, watching the brilliant petals drifting in the wind. Life felt like a dream.

Estelle had never claimed to be a role-model princess. Role-model princesses don’t run away from home, obstruct the law, and fall in love with female mages. They stay all cooped up in a castle, rule justly through that law, and they marry princes. The princesses in her story books had always been her role-model, but now she realized that role-model princesses were boring. Princes were boring. And she wouldn’t trade her normal, free lifestyle or hot-headed mage for anything.


End file.
